THE ___old regime _____-Period before the French Revolution. France as it was…An Absolute Monarch in charge, the 3rd estate, the poor people paying the bulk of the taxes, the rich and clergy paying virtually no taxes at  all

French Kings…

Louis XIV (14)-The Sun King, builder of Versailles, left France with a huge debt

Louis XV (15)-Famous for his mistresses (Madame de Pompadour) and spending money

Louis XVI (16)-Married to Marie Antoinette from Austria, she was the daughter of ____Maria Theresa______, Empress of Austria (Hapsburg Family)

Marie Antoinette was a spendthrift---“Madame Deficit”, because she seemed disinterested in the people and insensitive to their needs, they hated her  

Did she say “Let Them Eat Cake” when there was no bread??? Probably not...but many people believed that she did

Louis XVI was not especially concerned either he spent much of his time fixing clocks and locks and hunting

His marriage to Marie Antoinette was politically arranged and he did not particularly like her

She was a party girl who loved the nightlife, spent money, and had a “boyfriend” named Count _Axel von fersen_

France was divided into 3 social classes….called Estates

1st Estate-Clergy (Church people, preachers, priests, etc) They were tax exempt

2nd Estate-Rich wealthy landowners-They too were tax exempt

3rd Estate-Everybody else (Poor, workers, Bourgeoisie or Upper Middle Class) ALL Paid Taxes

The 3rd Estate made up about 95% of society

During the 1770’s The American Revolution began…Louis XVI sent troops and a large fleet and helped America win independence from the British

The Americans won their independence and Britain lost a vital resource, anything that weakened the British was good news for France because France and England despised each other

‘

However, the war was very costly for France and they went even deeper in debt

In 1788, the situation in Paris was volatile…Revolution was in the air and their were frequent riots, many of them were bread riots, caused by a shortage of wheat from years of poor harvests

King Louis XVI had no clue how to solve France’s economic woes

Finance Ministers, ___Jacques Necker__________ and Robert Turgot had suggested taxing the 1st and 2nd Estates, but Louis XVI rejected this and both ____Necker__________ and Turgot were dismissed or quit

Finally, Louis XVI recalls the old dismissed ______estates general_______________ (Had been dismissed since 1614-15 under Louis XIII/Cardinal Richelieu) 

Finally in 1789 the Estates-General is ready to meet

1st Estate consists of the Clergy-Paid no Taxes

2nd Estate consists of the Rich Nobility-Paid no Taxes

3rd Estate consists of everybody else-Paid Taxes

Dispute over Voting procedures….

Each estate got one vote regardless of the number of members or reps within that estate…1st and 2nd estates would always unite to outvote any tax increases proposed by the 3rd estate

3rd Estate demanded a 1 man = 1 Vote procedure but that was voted down (Rousseau’s ideas of Social Equality)

The 3rd Estate starts the French Revolution by declaring itself the __national assembly___…it promises to write a Constitution for France

These were “Moderates” led by __Comte de Mirabeau____; he favored a Constitutional Monarchy like Britain

    (Historians are split on him-it was discovered he was on the King’s payroll)

Louis XVI was not sure how to respond…so he sends his men to padlock the doors so the 3rd Estate can’t get inside to work on the Constitution

The 3rd Estate, locked out, simply goes down the street to a Racquetball Court and meets there------

_________Tennis Court Oath______________pledge to not stop meeting until France has a Constitution…

PEACEFUL START to the Revolution

July 14th, 1789-Storming of the ____________Bastille__________

A wild Parisian mob goes to an old prison called the ______Bastille__________

They attack it and kill some of the guards and free several prisoners

Their action plunges France into a more violent phase of the Revolution

TODAY, the French celebrate _July 14 - Bastille Day_____________ as their National Holiday

October 5-6, 1789 A Crowd of angry women marched to Versailles in a pouring rainstorm, they wanted the King and Queen to come to Paris and see how bad the conditions were (hungry with no bread)

“If the King Only Knew”

On the morning of the 6th, they stormed into the palace at ___versailles______________ and forced the King and Queen to return to Paris

The King wore the Tricolor (Red, White and Blue)

Once back in Paris, they were forced to stay at the ______Tuilleries_____________ (old Palace for French Kings before Versailles) In Virtual House Arrest

-Declaration of rights of man- similar to our bill of rights

In 1790, The King agrees to accept the new Constitution and it will go into effect in 1791

The new Constitution created a 3 branch system of government with the King serving like a President with _______veto_____ power….The King would not be elected but would inherit his position (Montesquieu’s ideas which had just been adopted in the US Constitution)

______emigres__________-people who feared the revolution and eventually fled from France

June 20-24th, 1791 Louis XVI and his royal family sneak out of Paris with the help of Count Fersen and headed out of the country

As they neared ___Varennes________, they were recognized and captured and hauled back to Paris 

-Claimed he has been kidnapped- no one believed him

The actions of Louis XVI indicate his unwillingness to cooperate with the new Constitution

Major European powers are concerned about the possibility that the French might Abolish the Monarchy and kill the royal family

August 27th, 1791-Declaration of _____pilnitz_________-issued by the Rulers of Austria and Prussia (Germany)-it warned the French not to harm Louis XVI

April 20th, 1792 France goes to war against Austria and Prussia (Why would Louis XVI been in favor of this war?)

The war went poorly for the French, by August The Duke of Brunswick (Prussian General) was nearing Paris and he issued the ______brunswick manifesto_________________________---in which he pledged to burn down Paris if they didn’t surrender or if they harmed Louis XVI

August 10, 1792-A radical crowd, led by Georges Danton and others, storms the Tuileries and kills the King’s Swiss Guards (remembered with the __lion mounment ____________ in Lucerne, Switzerland) Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette flee out the back door and escape but are later captured….these radicals seize control of the country…they revoke the New Constitution and abolish the monarchy. Over the next 6 weeks, more than 1400 are arrested and killed in what becomes known as the September Massacres. 

September 20th, 1792-Battle of ___valmy________- The French troops defeated the Prussian and Austrian forces - Preserving the Revolution

The French troops had marched to save “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” and they marched to the tune of the __marseillaise______________________ (The French National Anthem-even today)

November 1792-debate rages as to what to do with the King, The radical members of the Jacobin Club, Montagnards or __mountain__________, wants to kill the King, the more moderate Girondists want to save him but keep him from power….eventually a TRUNK OF LETTERS was discovered that were written by Louis XVI, begging the Austrians to invade and save him----that makes him guilty of treason….in a narrow vote…they voted to behead Louis XVI. 

January 21, 1793 Louis XVI is beheaded “People I die Innocent”

Danton voted for the death of Louis XVI in January 1793. After the execution had been carried out, he said "The kings of Europe would dare challenge us? We throw them the head of a king!"

The radical Jacobins are now in charge and they are led by Maximilien Robespierre who wants to establish a “Republic of Virtue”. Robespierre was a devout Deist who was determined to carry out Voltaire’s ideas (Crush the Infamous Thing)

He and others created a __Committe on public Safety__to be sure that NO ONE is speaking out against the things they have done…thus begins the ____reign of terror (red terror)___, anyone who spoke out against their Revolutionary actions was tried and guillotined, later no trial was even necessary …up to 40,000 people were guillotined (including Marie Antoinette in October 1793) and more than 300,000 were imprisoned during the next year.  Most of the Girondists were executed.

Jean Paul Marat was another radical Jacobin. He called for more deaths. On 9 July 1793, ___charlotte corday__(A Girondist sympathizer) went to Paris, with a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade. She found Marat in his bathtub and on July 13, 1793 she stabbed him in the chest. At her trial, Corday testified that she had carried out the assassination alone, saying “I killed one man to save 100,000.” On July 17th, 1793, she was guillotined.

Some of Robespierre’s closest friends began to call for an end to the __reign of terror___. When Danton spoke out and said that enough people had been guillotined, he was arrested and guillotined by Robespierre on April 6th, 1794. Danton's last words addressed to his executioner were “Don't forget to show my head to the people because it's well worth seeing.”

Robespierre's desire for revolutionary change was not limited to politics. He wanted to instill a new religious spirit in the French people based on his Deist beliefs. On May 7, 1794, Robespierre had a decree passed by the Convention that established a new official religion, the __cult of the supreme being___. The notion of the Supreme Being was based on ideas that Jean-Jacques Rousseau had outlined in The Social Contract. _Notre Dame_ was turned into a Temple of Reason which reflected Robespierre’s love of Nature. The traditional Christian calendar was abolished and replaced with a new French Revolutionary calendar. A new system of weights and measures was also adopted which became the (still used) __mertic system_____________.

On July 27th, 1794 Robespierre is shouted down as he tried to address the convention. That night he tried to kill himself but he shot his lower jaw but did not die. The next morning on July 28th, 1794, when clearing Robespierre's neck the executioner tore off the bandage that was holding his shattered jaw in place, producing agonized screaming. Robespierre was guillotined face up, thus ending the ____reign of terror__.

The White Terror (Thermidorean Reaction) followed…more people are killed but this time it’s the radicals like Robespierre who died

A five man Rule is established called __directory_____

The __directory___ lasts from late 1795 to 1799 when it is overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

Born on the Island of Corsica (South of France but French owned)

During the French Revolution, Napoleon became famous for his battles against the British, he despised them but Britain was the one country that he could never beat

In 1799, Napoleon overthrew the _____directory_____________and became Emperor of France (brumaire coup)

Incredibly smart…sharp minded…he could translate 4 letters to 4 different secretaries at the same time

Symbol of his reign: __honey bee_________

Napoleonic Code…Napoleon was very proud of this….

Preserves many of the ideas of the Revolution...but safeguards his own power

Lycees-Government run schools…for mostly rich kids

One National Bank of France-This allowed him to control the money

Preservation of the _____mertic system_________which was established during the Fr. Rev.

All Paid Taxes…. abolishment of all social classes

While in Egypt in 1799…his men found the _____rosetta stone__________ (Key to translating Egyptian Hieroglyphics)

Who crowned Napoleon Emperor??? The Pope held the crown at a huge ceremony…at the last moment….Napoleon was crowned by ____napoleon________

2 wives….

1)_____josephine_____-she cheated on him…no kids…he divorced her (Why? __failed to provide him a heir__)

2) Marie Louise gave him a son (the so-called Napoleon II who never ruled)

Canned foods were developed to preserve foods and feed his “Grand Armee” (600,000)

Much of his reign…he was at war

-Obsessed with beating England-deep passionate hatred---the love letter story

-1799-1806, Napoleon defeats most every country in Europe

he beats Spain and puts ____Joseph Bonaparte__________________ (brother) on the throne (nepotism)

He beats the Austrians at the Battle of __Austerlitz_______________________

He beats Prussia (reformed into the Confederation of the Rhine), Austria, the Netherlands, Controls Italy

HOWEVER: in 1805: At the Battle of _____trafalgar___________________, Napoleon’s fleet suffers a humiliating defeat at the hands of the British ( Horatio Nelson dies in the battle)

4. Frustrated by his inability to beat the British, Napoleon comes up with another plan. It’s called the ______continental system_______________________…it forbids any country to trade with England….if they do….Napoleon says he will attack them

1806-1812…England faces great hardship as European powers are afraid to trade with England

England responds by blockading France’s coast 

The US goes to war against England in 1812 (War of 1812)

British ships were stealing our cargo and sailors from our ships (Impressment)

___Francis Scott Key_____________________wrote the Star Spangled Banner

Also in 1812….Russia began trading with England…so Napoleon attacked Russia

Deep into Russian territory Napoleon marches…    

His supply lines are long…canned food saved the army

Russians used a “_scorched earth policy_______”…they burned everything as they retreated including Moscow

Russian General…General _snow___/_winter______ arrives and freezes Napoleon’s troops

His Grande Armee of 600,000 men faced starvation and must retreat…Napoleon loses 5/6 of his army as he retreats

As his army retreats…numerous old enemies jump on him

1813: _battle of leipzig_(battle of Nations)…Napoleon is defeated and captured, sent into exile on the island_elba_

HE ESCAPES…and returns to rule again…dramatic scene with his former troops (see video)

This time he rules for a brief time before being beaten at the battle of Waterloo…by the English (Duke of Wellington) And the Prussians

He is sent to the island of _____St. Helena ___-permanent exile…where he dies in 1821

Mystery of Marshal Ney: Napoleons’ top General…the Bravest of the Brave…Where is he buried?? In Paris? Or in ___Rowan County at 3rd creek presbyrerian Church_____________________